Up or Down Vote

One of the problems that congresspeople always complain about is that so-called up-or-down votes are not often allowed. Too often they have to vote on larger funding bills that water down the ability of the representative to clearly show where they stand on the issue.

Today, before the current Obey (D-WI) funding bill vote, members will get a chance to make a statement and vote on an effectively-immediate pullout measure proposed by Jim McGovern (D-MA).

Good for them. I'm all for them being able to vote on what they really want to do before moving on to what's possible. While it won't result in any action, it will allow members to distinguish themselves from one another.